Pokemon Quest
by Lady Dawson
Summary: Puts the characters of One Tree Hill into the Pokemon world. WARNING: This story does NOT include Lucas and the main character is my character Susan DawsonScott. Abandoned.
1. Heading Out

**Pokémon Quest**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter One: Heading Out

When Susan Dawson left her hometown of Tree Hill, she was all of ten years old and starting her Pokémon journey. That was the age that every person qualified to become a Pokémon trainer. But as much as she loved the idea of going out into the world and becoming a trainer, she hated the thought of leaving her Uncle Keith behind.

The moment that her mother Elizabeth Dawson got pregnant with her, her father Dan Scott left town, met some woman in another town and got her pregnant, married her and returned to Tree Hill with his wife and newborn son, Susan's half-brother Nathan.

Her mother was heartbroken when she discovered this, but to her relief, Dan's brother, Susan's Uncle Keith, stayed by her and helped her to raise Susan. Unfortunately, Susan never got the chance to know her mother, because she died giving birth to her.

Keith was given custody of Susan, considering that Dan had abandoned Elizabeth when she was pregnant and gotten another woman pregnant. He raised her on the other side of town, away from her father and brother. Susan didn't really care about meeting her father; he wasn't worth much in her eyes. But Nathan? Her little brother? She hated the fact that they would never have the chance to be close to one another. Because of what their father had done, hatred lay beneath the skin, in their very blood. He hated Susan for being the child of a woman who had come before his mother and Susan hated him for being what she called a miniature of Dan. The kid was like their father in a five foot three package. Sometimes, she understood why Keith had kept her away from the two of them, but she sometimes saw something in his eyes that she was sure that Dan never showed: compassion. Sometimes when he looked at her, she could see kindness and caring lying deep beneath the surface.

Still, her uncle was the best person in her life and she hated the thought of leaving him behind. Ever since her mother died, he had never gotten close to anybody. He had loved Elizabeth; she knew that. And keeping her daughter safe was his one key to sanity. She worried that he would lose his reason for being if she left him.

When she confessed this to him the night before she was going to receive her first Pokémon and start her journey, Keith had laughed and pulled her into his lap, hugging his niece tightly.

"Listen to me, Sue," he told her gently. "You don't need to worry about me, all right? I'll be fine. I love you so much, but I also know that you can't hide from life. This is the path that you were meant to take. If you don't take it now, then I know that you're going to regret it for the rest of your life. And one day you'll start wondering of what could have been, like Dan." He smiled and tweaked her nose. "That would be a bigger price to pay than keeping you here. Now go on, get to bed, kiddo," he said, pushing her towards her room. "You've got a big day tomorrow."

Susan smiled. "I love you, Uncle Keith," she told him. Keith grinned at her as she disappeared into her room. As she closed her door behind her, she climbed onto her bed, hardly able to sleep because of excitement.

When she woke up the next morning, it was early and she quickly got dressed, unable to get to sleep. Heading into the next room, she grabbed a quick breakfast before she headed over to Professor Leigh Periwinkle's laboratory on the other side of Tree Hill, scribbling a note to Uncle Keith about where she'd gone.

She wasn't the only person there when she arrived at Professor Periwinkle's laboratory. There were three other trainers who were about to start their journey. One was from the riverside of Tree Hill, Haley James. Susan didn't know her very well, but she was nice enough. The other two, however, were both from the hillside. The rich kids. One was Peyton Sawyer, one of the pretty and the popular. The other was none other than Nathan Scott. His dark blue eyes travelled over her as she arrived and dismissed her, wrinkling his nose as he noted her tattered hand-me-downs and the old, worn knapsack she was carrying.

Taking a seat a few feet away from Nathan, Susan checked her watch. Still ten minutes to seven, when she was supposed to arrive, so they were still early. Taking out her knapsack, Susan flipped through her belongings, making sure that she had everything before she headed out. It would be a long time before she was home again, so she had to make sure she had everything.

After what seemed like forever, footsteps approached the entrance to the laboratory. Susan looked up to see the purple haired woman who was approaching. "Good morning, Pokémon trainers," she said pleasantly. "I'm Professor Periwinkle. Please come in and we'll get you started."

Unlocking the gates, Professor Periwinkle led them in and headed up to the laboratory.

"Excuse the mess," she said with a grin as they entered. "Just so you know, most geniuses are slobs to the core." Susan chuckled and Professor Periwinkle winked at her. "Now, first things first, the delivery of your first Pokémon. Now, who would like to go first?"

"I'll go," Peyton Sawyer said, moving forward. Nathan grinned towards her as the blonde girl headed towards the Professor.

"Very well," Professor Periwinkle answered, surveying her. "Now, we have the three starting Pokémon: Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander. Which one of these would you like to begin with?"

Peyton frowned, taking her time deciding. "I think that I'm gonna go with Bulbasaur," she answered. "Grass types have always been my preference."

Professor Periwinkle nodded, producing a red and white Pokéball with a leaf, signifying grass type, on the front of it. She handed it to Peyton. "Now, don't leave, we're not quite finished yet. All right, so you have Bulbasaur. Haley, would you like to choose next?" she asked, looking at the chestnut girl.

"Sure," Haley said with a grin. She walked forward. "I think that I'd like to start with Squirtle," she told the Professor. "My mom started with a water type, too."

"Oh, yes, I remember," Professor Periwinkle said, nodding. "Lydia and I started Pokémon training on the same day. How is your mother doing, by the way?" she asked.

"Pretty good," Haley answered as she received a Pokéball with a teardrop on it, signifying water types. "She speaks highly of you, though."

"I'm flattered," Professor Periwinkle said with a smile. "Now, ladies first, I suppose. Susan, which Pokémon would you—"

"I'll go first," Nathan snapped as Susan started to move forward. He pushed her back and out of the way, slamming her into Haley. The chestnut girl caught her before she fell and Susan straightened, sending a grateful look towards Haley and a glare toward her half-brother.

Professor Periwinkle looked startled and little angered by this exchange, but she didn't comment. "Very well, then," she said, sending a sympathetic look towards Susan. "Now then, Nathan, which Pokémon would you like to start with?"

"Charmander," Nathan said without hesitation. Susan shook her head, knowing why he'd chosen that one. The fire types were the most dangerous of the three starting types. She knew that, having grown up with Uncle Keith, who knew almost everything about Pokémon.

Handing a Pokéball with a flame on it, signifying fire types, Professor Periwinkle turned towards Susan regretfully. "Susan, I'm sorry, but that's all I have of the starting Pokémon. I do have another Pokémon here, but I have to warn you, this one isn't a starting type. Many trainers have advised waiting until you've got further training to deal with it."

Susan shook her head. "No, I'll take it, Professor," she said fiercely. "I've _got_ to have a Pokémon to start my training."

With a nod, Professor Periwinkle headed to the back and returned with a Pokéball. This one had a lightning on it, signifying electric types. Susan stared at it, entranced. "This Pokéball holds a Pikachu," she told Susan. The brunette took it into her hands, holding it into her hands.

Pikachu, she thought with a smile. She liked the sound of that. Placing the ball into her pocket, she listened to the Professor as she started to talk.

"Now, you each have received your first Pokémon and will now begin your journeys as trainers. Throughout your voyages, you will have many different obstacles and challenges to face. But that is what will set you apart and make your journeys bright and wonderful. Now, I must give you these." She handed them little tiny red computers. "This is your Pokédex, a computer that will tell you everything there is to know about the Pokémon you wish to have information on. It will be helpful on your journeys."

Susan took the red computer into her hands, studying it carefully before she slipped it into her pocket. "Now, I wish all of you the best of luck," Professor Periwinkle said with a smile. "If you ever need any assistance, feel free to contact me here at the laboratory."

"Look, lady, these morons here might need your help," Nathan sneered, draping an arm around Peyton, who slipped an arm around his waist. "But we certainly don't. We can do just find without you. Come on, Peyton, let's get out of here."

He walked out of the laboratory with Peyton right behind him, throwing a disgusted look towards the other two girls as they watched them go.

"I never liked him," Professor Periwinkle sighed. "It's amazing how different you two are, Susan, when you have the same father."

Susan sighed. "Tell me about it." She shook her head, pulling the Pokéball out of her pocket. "Now, let's see here . . ." Pressing the button on the ball, there was a great burst of light and a yellow Pokémon with pointed ears appeared out if it.

The Pokémon shook itself and then blinked brown eyes up at its new trainer. "Pikachu?" it asked, sniffing her cautiously.

"Hi, there," Susan said gently, reaching out towards Pikachu, trying to allow it to make the first move. Pikachu frowned slightly, deciding as it looked up at her. Then it leaped onto her shoulder, placing itself onto her shoulder contentedly.

"Well, now!" Professor Periwinkle said in surprise. "It seems to like you a lot, Susan! Pikachu rarely show affection towards humans instantly." Susan blinked at her, shocked. "Well, come on, girls, I daresay that your families are outside waiting to see you off."

Susan smiled as she followed Professor Periwinkle out of the laboratory, but it immediately faltered when she saw the group that was gathered outside. Nathan was still there, talking with a blonde woman that she assumed to be his mother, Deb Scott. Peyton was standing there with her father, Larry Sawyer. And all of them were watching the two men that were talking. Her heart sank when she saw that it was Uncle Keith and Dan.

"Nathan's got a real shot here, Keith," Dan was saying as they rounded the corner. "A real future."

"A real future," Keith echoed, glaring at his younger brother. "Let me ask you something, Dan. Do you ever think about Susan's future? Do you ever think about that?"

Dan snorted, rolling his eyes. "I can't change the fact that this kid exists. If I could, then I would. In fact, I told Elizabeth that I would take care of it. But she—" He stopped talking when Keith's eyes landed on Susan and he turned around, spotting her there.

Susan pressed her lips together, refusing to look at him, and started heading away from the laboratory. She didn't care where she was going, but she refused to be within two feet of that man ever again. The mere sight of him made her blood boil. And it didn't help that he had turned her brother against her, making him treat her as though she were beneath him. She wished that Nathan and her could be closer, but she also knew that with Dan manipulating and controlling what he thought, there could never be any hope of them kindling a friendship or anything.

When she finally reached the park that she had played at so much, Susan finally sank down and allowed Pikachu to spring off her back and play in the yard.

"Why do I let him get to me like that?" she grumbled. "I am so sick and tired of hiding from him. But I can't face him, not after everything that he's done to me and the way he treated my mother."

"Pika?" Pikachu looked up at her, as though sensing her distress, and climbed onto the bench, sliding underneath her arm, trying to comfort her. Susan smiled slightly, scratching the Pokémon behind its ears. It perked up and giggled, enjoying the attention.

Susan looked around as her uncle walked into the park, looking relieved when he saw her. "Thought that I might find you here," he commented. "I'm sorry you had to hear that, Sue."

"It's not your fault, Uncle Keith," she told him. "I just wish that . . . he would leave us alone. I'm sick of hiding from him, but at the same time, I can't face him. Not after everything he's done."

Keith nodded. "Well, maybe one day, you'll be able to," he suggested. "Don't let this ruin your day, Sue. It's time to stop running away from Dan and start heading towards your journey." Susan nodded, wrapping her arms around her uncle. When he pulled away, he handed her a thick, leather bound book. "This is for you. So you can write down everything that you see. I know that you'll want to record everything that you see, so now you'll be able to do that. And here's a pen," he added, producing a beautiful, silver stylus. "I had them ordered a couple months ago for you. Lucky they got here in time," he said with a grin. "Otherwise I would've had to ship them after you."

Susan chuckled. "Thank you, Uncle Keith," she said with tears in her eyes. "They're beautiful."

"I knew you'd like them." Her uncle chuckled. "You remind me so much of your mother sometimes. She, too, loved writing. But she, uh . . . she never really wanted to travel and see things. Elizabeth preferred everything here in Tree Hill. She never wanted to see the world."

"Yeah, that I got from you."

Her uncle laughed before looking down at Pikachu. "So, that's your Pokémon?" he asked. "I didn't know that they gave Pikachu to starting trainers."

"Well, I'm sort of glad that Nathan pushed me out of the way to get the last starting one," Susan said with a grin. "Cause I really like this little guy." Pikachu chirped an affirmative, causing both uncle and niece to laugh. Looking at her uncle, Susan said, "Thanks, Uncle Keith, for everything. I love you."

"I love you, too, kiddo," Keith said, hugging her. "Now, Pikachu," he added, looking towards the Pokémon. "I need you to take care of this niece of mine. Can you do that for me?"

Pikachu nodded. "Pi," it agreed. "Pi-Pikachu."

"Good." Keith got to his feet. "Now, you two better get going. It's getting late. Go on," he said. Susan got to her feet, Pikachu leaping onto her shoulder, and started down the long road. As she looked back at her uncle, she saw that he had tears in his eyes. Tears of happiness and pride.


	2. First Capture

**Pokémon Quest**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Two: First Capture

It took almost the entire day for Susan and Pikachu to get halfway through Route 119 that led north to Fortree City. By that time, it was already getting dark and getting let, so they set up camp for the night. While Pikachu curled up into a ball at Susan's feet, its soft breathing indicating that it was asleep, Susan stayed awake, pulling out the journal that her uncle had given her. She smiled as she turned to the first page and found a cover page written in gold, curling script: _Susan's Book_.

"Thank you, Uncle Keith," she whispered with a small smile. Flipping the pen on, she began to scribble on the blank page after the cover.

_Dear Journal, _

_Today is the start of my Pokémon journey. I just left my hometown of Tree Hill with my first Pokémon, whom I sense is going to be a lifelong friend, Pikachu. My uncle gave me this journal to record what will be happening to me from now on. Everything is about to change for me and I'll want to remember everything. _

Susan paused in her writing as she leaned back against the log, pulling her jacket tighter around her. Despite the fire that was providing a flickering light for her, the night was cool and chilly. Suppressing a sigh, Susan turned back to her writing.

_Pikachu and I are in the middle of Route 119, heading north to Fortree City. I heard that the leader there is a woman by the name of Winona and she uses bird Pokémon inside her gym. It sounds pretty cool and I've been wanting to visit Fortree ever since I was a little girl. Uncle Keith told me that they have houses there that are treehouses and they're all built around the Fortree City Gym. The only place that is really on the ground there is the Pokémon Centre. That'll probably be my first stop when we get there. _

As Susan scribbled this last thought, Pikachu's ears perked up and it looked up, as though it had heard something.

"What's up, Pikachu?" she asked, replacing the cap to her pen and returning it and the journal to her bag.

"Pika," it answered, jumping into the forest. "Pika-Pika-Pi!" Susan let out a deep sigh, smothering the fire before chasing after the electric Pokémon as it sped out into the darkness.

"Pikachu, wait up!" she ordered just as they came to the edge of a cliff. Susan shrieked, seizing hold of a tree branch just as she was about to lose her balance, and pulled herself to safety. Her Pokémon was sitting serenely at the edge, looking up at the sky.

Susan stared at it, then towards where it was looking. Her breath caught as she saw the flock of Butterfree that were flying high above in the sky, their wings fluttering as they flew past the moon.

"Wow," Susan muttered, retrieving her binoculars from her bag and peering into them to get a better look at them. It was even more amazing when she got the closer look. "That is so cool!"

She sat down onto the ground, hugging her knees and watching the Butterfree as they flew. "You know, I've never done this with anybody before, Pikachu," she admitted. "Other than Uncle Keith. He was the only person who really cared for me. Everybody else just stayed away because I was Dan Scott's other child, the illegitimate daughter of a woman that had once been his sweetheart. Nobody wanted to Nathan to think that they actually liked me, so they stayed away."

"Pika . . ." Pikachu climbed into her arms, settling itself in her lap. "Pika-Pikachu. Pi-Pika-Pi."

Susan hugged the Pokémon tightly, savouring the moment. "Pikachu?" she asked. "We're friends, aren't we?" Pikachu nodded in affirmation. "And no matter what happens, we'll be together? Always?"

"Pika." It nodded its head eagerly. Its brown eyes were sparkling as it looked up at its trainer. "Pika-Pikachu."

"Good." Susan grinned as the two of them continued to watch the Butterfree in their moonlight flight, flying up and away, towards new places, new adventures, new experiences, a new destiny.

But Susan never could have anticipated that the two of them, like the Butterfree, would soon have new adventures and experiences that neither of them could have expected. Their fates were intertwined to a destiny that neither one could understand or know about.

As far as Susan knew, her relationship with her brother would never progress into anything more than bitter enemies. And with Dan as their father, it wasn't surprising that they weren't closer than they were. But fate decreed that they would be.

--

It was later that same night that Susan and Pikachu were back in their camp, both of them fast asleep. But about three o'clock in the morning, Susan could've _sworn_ that she heard something rustling around where they had made camp. Releasing a groan, Susan turned over into her blankets, thinking that she was still at her house in Tree Hill and something was just outside their house. She or Uncle Keith could deal with it in the morning. No need to raise the alarm for nothing so late.

"Pikachu!"

Susan jolted awake as she sensed electricity sparkling nearby. Her blue-green eyes flew open and landed on the electric Pokémon that was trying to get her awake, its cheeks sparking. When it saw her awake, however, it ceased sparking.

"What's going on?" she mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she looked around the camp. Then she heard it, the sound of something slithering nearby, just beyond their campsite. The fire had died down, but it still created enough light for Susan to see.

"Who's there?" she demanded, staring around the campsite. Pikachu growled slightly, its cheeks sparking again as it put itself between its trainer and the danger approaching.

As Susan reached for a lit branch, she all of a sudden heard another low growl, this time coming from the woods. And she came face-to-face with another Pokémon, its red eyes glaring back at the young trainer and her Pokémon. She let out a shriek of surprise, almost stumbling over.

"What is that?" she wondered, reaching for her Pokédex and pointing it towards the Pokémon that was still in the shadows. Her blue-green eyes were wide and she was almost in panic as it clicked onto the profile, featuring a small, blue Pokémon.

"_Nitoran♀, a poison Pokémon,_" Dexter's computerised voice spoke up from the small, red, miniature computer. "_This female type of the Nitoran species has small, poisonous barbs that make her extremely dangerous. Her horns may be smaller than the male's, but they are still just as powerful. Proceed with caution when dealing with this Pokémon._"

Susan stared down at Dexter just as the Pokémon came out of the bushes, revealing the same blue Pokémon that was on the computer screen. It growled at the pair of them, scraping its forefeet towards Pikachu. "Ready for this, Pikachu?" she asked. "Our first battle."

It gave an affirmative nod as it prepared for battle. "Okay, let's do this!" Susan said, a grin spreading across her face. Her first battle . . . "Pikachu, quick attack!"

Immediately, the yellow Pokémon sprung into action, slamming head-on into the blue one. Although it seemed to do damage to the Nitoran, Pikachu let out a shriek, nursing its forehead tenderly.

"Pikachu!" Susan was at her Pokémon's side instantly, wondering what had just happened. Then she understood as she took a look at the injury. It had been hit with one of Nitoran's poisonous darts. "Are you okay? Can you get up?" she asked.

The yellow Pokémon pushed itself up, its cheeks sparking as it glared at Nitoran. Its opponent had been ministering its own injuries, but now it was ready to battle again. "Are you sure you can do this?" Susan asked cautiously and Pikachu nodded. "Okay, let's try no more direct attacks. Uh . . ." Susan thought back to her uncle's lessons about Pikachu's attacks. "Let's see . . . let's try a thunder-shock, okay?"

"Pika . . . CHU!" Thunder and lightning sprung through the air and hit Nitoran full blast. The other Pokémon let out a shriek of rage and pain as it tried to scramble away, but unable to avoid the attack. As the attack slowed the Nitoran down, Pikachu leaped to the ground to deal with its own wounds, licking the poisonous injury painfully.

"Now!" Susan shouted, yanking an empty Pokéball out of her bag and throwing it towards the weak Pokémon. By now, it was lying on the ground helplessly. "Pokéball, go!"

Nitoran, too weak to avoid the Pokéball and being captured, was engulfed by a red light and sucked into the ball. The ball dropped onto the ground and the button was red as it shook slightly. Susan tensed slightly, waiting and watching. After what seemed like an eternity, the ball stopped shaking and its button turned back to white.

"YES!" Susan picked up the Pokéball triumphantly and held it in her hands, a smile spreading across her face. Her first capture as a Pokémon trainer and only on her second night out. She wondered what her uncle was going to say when she told him.

"Pika . . ." Pikachu's weak cry caught her attention and she hurried over to it, remembering about its injury.

"Oh, boy," Susan sighed as she looked at the damage more fully, reaching for her bag and retrieving one of the antidotes that her uncle had given her before she'd left. "Okay, let's see if this is going to help. Just try and stay still, all right?" Pikachu gave a weak nod as she positioned herself to spray on the wound.

"This might sting a little," she said gently as she sprayed the antidote onto the wound. Pikachu shrieked, sparking violently, but to her relief, it didn't release any lightning. "Okay, easy, Pikachu, it's all right. Shh," she crooned. "Easy, it's all right, I'm here." Bandaging the injury quickly, Susan looked down at her Pokémon. "Is that better?"

"Pi . . ." It looked up at her with overbright eyes, but it nodded, crawling into her comforting arms. Susan hugged Pikachu, wondering how she could have ever cared about someone so fast that she just met.

"We'll get you to the first Pokémon Centre that we see and have the nurse there treat it, okay?" she suggested. Pikachu nodded as it curled up into her arms before it looked at the ball that now held Nitoran. Gingerly easing itself out of Susan's arms, it approached the Pokéball and sniffed it tenderly.

"Looks like we got ourselves a new friend, huh?" Susan asked. Pikachu laughed as pressed the button on the Pokéball.

Automatically, there was a burst of light and then Nitoran took form, appearing within the camp. It growled at its new trainer and fellow Pokémon, but Susan scrounged up some Pokémon food and looked towards her _two_ Pokémon. "So, who's hungry?" she asked with a grin.

AN: Okay, guys, thanks for the reviews. They really do keep me motivated, so don't stop! Also, don't worry, Brooke will be coming up in some later chapters, but she will be there. So just keep reviewing and wait anticipatedly for the next chapter.


	3. Brother and Sister

**Pokémon Quest**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Three: Brother and Sister

As Susan walked through the thick forest of Route 119, Pikachu on her shoulder, she couldn't help but get the vague feeling that something was wrong. Almost immediately, she got her answer to the question that was on the tip of her tongue of what.

"AARGH!" A yell broke the quiet of the woods, startling both Pokémon and trainer as they whirled around towards where the shout had come from, wondering what had caused the commotion.

Susan had just enough to register a dark haired figure racing towards her before he slammed into her, knocking her sideways.

Susan groaned as she was about to get to her feet. "Hey, what is the big idea—" she began, but the person clamped a hand over her mouth, preventing her from speaking.

Pikachu, who was about to shock the person, was suddenly alerted by something beyond them. It immediately ducked by Susan just as a herd of Beedrill swarmed by. Had they stood where they had been a few minutes ago, they would've been in harm's way.

Once the last Beedrill had disappeared, her captor released her and Susan pushed herself to her feet. "What on earth happened?" she demanded, turning to look towards the person, her hands on her hips, ready to start yelling at him as she caught her first full view of him.

But the minute that her gaze caught sight of the person who was getting to his own feet, her mouth dropped open in surprise and her hands fell harmlessly to her side, unable to believe her eyes as she recognised the boy standing before her instantly.

"Nathan Scott," she said with a sigh, shaking her head. He scowled at her as he surveyed her.

"Well, if it isn't my dad's other kid," he said sarcastically. He rolled his eyes as he surveyed her critically. "I would have thought you'd given up and went home crying to dear old Uncle Keith by now. You honestly don't strike me as that brave."

"Charming," Susan muttered, rolling her eyes. "How exactly did you get a herd of Beedrill chasing you? I would've thought you'd have enough sense not to insult one or anything."

Her half-brother snorted. "For your information, I was only trying to catch one. Which I did managed, by the way," he added, producing a Pokéball and tossing into the air, catching it easily. "Don't suppose that you caught any new Pokémon worth mentioning."

"That's none of your business." Susan retorted, placing her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

"Oh, really?" Nathan scoffed. "It's a wonder any of Dad's genes produced you. I would've thought someone with Scott genes would be much better at this Pokémon stuff that you are."

Susan bit her lip to stop herself from shouting at him. Not that it would do any good, anyway. "Don't you have someplace you need to be?" she said as politely as she could.

Nathan glanced at his watch. "Actually, yeah. I have an appointment with the Fortree City gym leader that I would hate to miss. So sorry to leave you so soon." He instantly began walking in a direction and Susan shook her head in exasperation.

"Uh . . . Nate?" she said lightly. He looked around, annoyed, and she smiled pleasantly. "Fortree City is _that_ way." She pointed in the opposite direction of where he was headed.

Her brother pierced his lips together, dark blue eyes blazing as he turned in the opposite direction. "I knew that."

"Uh-huh. How long would've it had been before you noticed that you were headed back to Tree Hill? You really get back home to Dan that bad?" she asked dryly. "It seems to me that you want to get away from him as badly as I do."

Nathan rounded on her, furious. "Don't you even talk about him, all right?" he yelled. "You don't know anything, _anything_ about him! And you don't know anything about me!"

"Because you won't let me," Susan replied, placing her hands on her hips. "Do you think that I want to be enemies with my own brother? I don't. Nathan, like it or not, we are siblings. And I don't want to look twenty years down the road and find us where Dan and Keith are. I love my uncle, but I don't want to grow up to be like him and be at odds with my little brother. Would it be so bad just to try and get along?"

Dark blue eyes wide, Nathan slowly backed away from her, a mixture of astonishment and fear going through his face. "I gotta go," he said quickly, running through the forest as quickly as he could in an effort to get away from his half-sister.

Staring after him, Susan sighed, looking down at Pikachu and squatting so it could climb back onto her shoulder. "I guess that's my answer, huh, buddy?" she asked as she shoved her hands in her pockets, walking along the path that led to Fortree City.

"Pika-Pika."

--

The moment that she walked into the Pokémon Centre with Pikachu, she bit her lip at the unusual amount of people that was piled into the centre with the injured Pokémon. Her blue-green eyes flickered this way and that, but she detected no sign of her brother as she managed to get her way through the crowd and to the front counter.

When she managed to reach the nurse, she looked up at Susan from whatever she was working on. "Good morning," she answered with a pleasant smile at the young trainer. "Check-up?" she asked as Susan produced her Pokéball that held Nitoran.

"Yeah, I just wanted to make sure they're both okay," she answered as Pikachu leaped onto the counter.

"I'll need to see your identification," the nurse replied. Susan pulled out her Pokédex and handed it over to the nurse. After a few minutes of clicking, the nurse handed it back to her.

"What's with the crowd, anyway?" Susan wanted to know, glancing back towards the mass of people. "Pokémon Centres aren't usually this crowded, are they?" She hadn't been to a Centre in a long time and that had been a long time ago, probably around the time she was five, when Keith had to fix the Centre's main power drive.

"No," the nurse sighed. "Actually, there's some kind of festival going on in town and everybody's here for it. It starts this afternoon," she added, "so you're welcome to go and enjoy it while I take care of Nitoran and Pikachu. It shouldn't take very long, though."

"Thanks." Susan smiled at the nurse as she headed to the back of the hospital to take care of her Pokémon. Pushing herself away from the counter, Susan shoved her hands in her pockets as she looked towards the fair that was starting to put itself together in town.

Pulling her eyes away from the festival, Susan noticed a green videophone on the opposite side of the wall.

"Probably be a good idea to call Uncle Keith," she decided as she headed over there and dialled her home phone number, glancing down at her watch. It wasn't even eight o'clock yet and her uncle usually headed to work around ten. He should be up by now.

"Hello, Dawson-Scott residence," her uncle said the moment that he picked up the phone.

"Uncle Keith?" Susan said.

"Susan!" Her uncle laughed. "How are you doing, kiddo? It's good to hear your voice."

"All I said was 'Uncle Keith', though."

"My favourite two words coming from my favourite niece," Keith answered, still laughing. He grinned at her from the video. "How are you doing, Sue? And where are you calling from?"

"I'm okay and I'm calling from the Pokémon Centre in Fortree City," Susan answered.

"Already? You just left two days ago," Keith said with a smile. "It took me five days to get there when I first started out." He cleared his throat. "So, are you okay? You didn't have any trouble getting there, did you? Route 119 can be a bit dangerous, you know."

"I know," Susan agreed. "We got attacked by a Nitoran on the first night out. I managed to capture it, though." She grinned at her uncle.

"Really?" Keith shook his head proudly. "Two days to get to Fortree City _and_ one day to capture a new Pokémon. Sue, you really do have the hang of this, you know that?"

"Of course I do," Susan agreed. "How could anybody not have it when they were raised by you?" This made Keith laugh. "I ran into Nathan on the way here, though."

"Oh, boy," Keith sighed. "What happened this time?"

"Nothing," Susan said with a shrug. "He just attacked a hive of Beedrill and they started chasing him. They probably would've chased me if he hadn't tackled me out of the way." She paused. "Keith, do you think I'm crazy for wanting a relationship with my brother?"

"No, I don't think you're crazy," Keith assured her. "I just think that until he realises what a good thing he's missing out on by treating his sister like trash, you're going to be in for a long haul." Susan nodded. "So, anything happening Fortree City?"

"There's a festival going on."

"Sounds like fun," Keith said with a smile. "You go on and have fun, Sue. And don't worry about Nathan; sometimes the best things in life are worth waiting for."

AN: Okay, guys, I really need you to review this story or I'm going to lose my interest in it. If you couldn't review the last chapter because you had already done it for the Author's Note I posted, then you could review the first chapter, because that one _still_ doesn't have any reviews.

Anyway, please REVIEW!!!! (Wow, that's the first time I've actually yelled online).


	4. An Old Friend

**Pokémon Quest**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Four: An Old Friend

True to her word, the pink-haired nurse named Joy—who Susan found out later had many sisters and cousins that also ran the centres who looked exactly the same and were named Joy—didn't take long to check over the two Pokémon. So pretty soon, Susan and Pikachu were out enjoying the festival that was parading in the square.

It had been far too long since she had enjoyed something like this with a friend, Susan mused as she and Pikachu shared a cotton candy together. Far too long. The last time that she had done something like this was before her friend Brooke Davis had moved away from Tree Hill when her dad had gotten a job. They had moved away to the Kanto region. Although the two girls wrote to each other regularly, Brooke had started to lose contact when she had started her own journey a couple months ago.

"I've had it!"

Susan and Pikachu both looked around as a loud and angry voice exploded from nearby. Glancing down at the electric Pokémon, Susan immediately jumped up to see what all of the commotion was all about. She skidded to a stop when she saw two trainers arguing with one another.

"You know, the only reason that I stuck with you all this way is because I wanted to get back to Tree Hill. But I have had about enough with you!" The girl was yelling at a cowering redheaded guy. "All you care about is just showing off your Pokémon for these dumb contests and that is _not_ what they are supposed to be meant for! They have feelings too, you know! And I am not going to stick around and watch you bully them around time after time after time! So you know what, you can just find your own way to win battles! 'Cause I'm sure not going to be doing it for you!"

Susan's eyes bulged as she stared at the pair. "What does it matter?" the guy demanded, finally regaining his composure. "They're _my_ Pokémon and if that's what I want to do with them, then so be it! I raise them how I want to raise them and you raise yours how _you_ want to raise them! That's what being a trainer means!"

"You don't care about your Pokémon; that's the problem with you! All you care about is getting them strong enough so that you can turn them over to that guy you work for. And I'm not going to stand around and watch you do that!"

With a huff, the girl turned on her back and walked away from him. The guy jumped to his feet. "Brooke, wait!" he shouted. "Don't go!"

"Brooke?" Susan asked. The girl stopped in her tracks, rounding on the smaller girl, her face filled with rage.

"Yeah, what do you—" She stopped dead in her tracks when her eyes landed on Susan, her eyes filled with recognition. "Oh, my . . . Susan?" she asked, her angry look dropping into one of delight. "It is you! What are you doing here?" she asked, hurrying to greet her old friend.

"We just stopped her after starting out," Susan explained. "This was our first stop from Tree Hill. What are you doing here?" she asked. "And who's your friend?" she added, glancing towards the redheaded guy.

"No friend of mine," Brooke said, glaring at the redheaded guy, who recoiled at her dangerous look, wincing slightly. "And he's no concern of either of ours. Let's go," she added, pulling Susan by the jacket. "Is that your Pokémon?" she asked, glancing down at Pikachu, who was scrambling up to land on Susan shoulder.

"Yep, this is Pikachu," Susan answered with a grin. "Pikachu, this is my friend Brooke Davis."

"Pika-Pi!" Pikachu said with a smile. Brooke grinned back, scratching Pikachu between the ears. It seemed to enjoy the attention.

"As for the other question," Brooke added. "I'm only here because I was headed back to Tree Hill. Had some things to take care of there. He was my ticket out of Kanto. End of story."

"What things?"

"I was just supposed to meet some friends there," Brooke answered with a shrug. "And pick you up so you could get away from that town. But it looks like you got out without my help. Your uncle actually let you go?" she added with a grin.

"Ha, ha. Very funny. And actually, he practically made me go. Said that if I didn't, then I would regret it one day."

Brooke sighed. "Keith was always the smart one of the family. So, where are you headed?" she asked as they headed towards the food stand. "Two sodas, please," she told the boy behind the booth. He nodded and went to get the order.

"Don't know," Susan answered with a shrug. "Guess I was going to go down to the gym and try and win a badge."

"Going to go try for the Pokémon League?" Brooke said with a laugh. Susan smiled and shrugged as she took the soda that Brooke offered her. "Well, that sounds like fun. You know, maybe we should travel together. Be like old times," she added, grinning.

"Right, you getting me in trouble again," Susan said, rolling her eyes. She had lost count of all the times that her friend had persuaded her into getting in heaps of trouble with Uncle Keith.

"Okay, I have totally changed my ways," Brooke insisted. "I have! I'm focusing on protecting the Pokémon of the world from the forces of evil. That is my duty and job."

"What are you going on about?" Susan questioned, arching her eyebrows. Brooke instantly made her "uh-oh" face and shook her head.

"No, nothing, nothing at all," she answered quickly. "Just some stuff that I've started to get involved in."

Susan sighed. "So much for you changing your ways," she commented. "What kind of stuff, Brooke?"

"You're not ready to know _that_ yet, trust me," Brooke sighed, glancing away. "It's not anything bad, just . . . just kind of dangerous. But not anything you need to worry about," she added, reading Susan's expression.

Shaking her head, Susan let Pikachu take a sip off of her soda. "So, what's been going on? I haven't heard from you since you were supposed to head out on your journey."

"Yeah, I've been kind of busy. Raising Pokémon, battling, it's a _tough_ life," Brooke mused. Susan snorted, but shook her head. "I got a Squirtle as my starting Pokémon, though. Is Pikachu yours?"

"Yeah, it's . . . complicated. Basically," she added, as she turned towards Brooke, "Nathan pushed me out of the way to get the last starter one, so Professor Periwinkle gave me Pikachu instead. And I'm very glad that she did," she added, scratching Pikachu's ears, who squealed in delight. "Because I like this little fellow."

"You know, I was actually kind of serious when I said that we should travel together," Brooke said. Susan looked at her. "I don't do good alone, Susan, you know that. And we could hit the road together, you know? What do you think?"

Susan looked at her. "You serious?"

"I wouldn't be saying it if I didn't mean it," Brooke said patiently. "So how about it? Want to team up and challenge the world together? You and me against the world?"

After a long pause, Susan nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "Let's do it. Together, to the end."

Both girls slapped palms.

--

"So, have you met the Fortree City gym leader yet?" Susan questioned the next day as they headed towards the gym, climbing the ropes and ladders that made up the streets of the city. As Keith had told her, the city was made up of tree houses.

"Nah. I haven't been to Fortree City in years, kid. But I do know that the town's famous for their bird Pokémon." She pointed towards one of the houses. "See what I mean?"

The house had to have about a million Pidgey flapping around on the rooftops and a young girl who looked as though she was about four or five was laughing as she threw birdseed towards them. Susan shook her head as she balanced herself on the bridge that was supposed to be a street, following Brooke down it.

"Well, Pikachu's an electric type," Susan mused. "And Nidoran is a poison type. They've both got a type advantage over flying types."

"Yeah, but your Pokémon are a much lower level than the gym leader's, so it's not going to be an easy battle. Even if it has a type advantage, some Pokémon can still leave a mark on other ones if they have a lot of power packed into their attacks." Brooke paused as she finished lecturing. "But electric attacks do have a powerful impact on flying types. It's probably going to be two on two for the battle, though, so . . ."

"So, I should save Pikachu for my second choice?" Susan finished up for her. "And use Nidoran first?"

"See, I knew that we shared one brain!" Brooke cheered. "I mean, we share the same thoughts, almost like we were psychic."

"Well, if we share one brain, hopefully, it's mine," Susan said with a smirk.

"Yeah!" Brooke agreed, then had to reconsider as to what Susan had just said. "Hold on, wait a minute . . ."

"Always slow on the uptake, eh, Brooke?" Susan said with a wink. "Come on, I'll race you to the gym!" She broke into the run, leaving Pikachu and Brooke to hurry after her, calling at her to wait up.

AN: Since someone reviewed the last chapter, I am going to thank that person by giving an update, but I really need more reviews if you want me to keep this story going. Thanks!

Lady Dawson


	5. Gym Battle 1

**Pokémon Quest**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Five: Gym Battle #1

Susan pushed open the doors to the gym leader, Pikachu on her shoulder and Brooke right behind her. Both girls looked around the empty gym before looking at each other, surprised that nobody was around. Susan stepped further into the room, looking around again.

"Hello?" Susan called, her footsteps clattering around the room. "Is anybody here?"

No one answered.

"My name is Susan Dawson," she said, still looking around. "From Tree Hill. I'd like a match with the gym leader." When nobody still answered, Susan looked towards Brooke. "I guess there's no one around. Shouldn't there be somebody here?"

"Yeah, there's usually the gym leader and a couple of junior trainers," Brooke answered, frowning. "Wonder where they all are."

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Susan folded her arms and crossed them across her chest. "Well, I guess we just wait until somebody comes back, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," Brooke said, still frowning. "I'm starved, by the way. All this climbing has worked my appetite."

Susan smiled slightly, reaching for a snack in her bag and tossing it to Brooke. As the elder girl bit into it, Susan looked around, trying to decide whether or not they should wait. As her gaze fell on the wall opposite, she noticed that there were barely visible hinges on it. Not noticeable to the average person, but Susan Dawson had the uncanny ability to notice things that other people didn't.

Standing up, she walked over to the wall, pressing her fingers on it and pushing as hard as she could. The wall made a squeak as it was pushed away, turning to reveal another hallway through the gym.

"Susan?" Brooke exclaimed. "What the . . . what is that?"

"Looks like a trapdoor," Susan answered. "Maybe it's a puzzle that you've got to solve in order to get to the gym leader. Like a test, of some sort." She grinned towards her friends. "Come on, let's go."

"Pika!" Pikachu leaped over to her, scrambling after her. Brooke made a face, but hurried after the two.

But pretty soon they came upon another trapdoor. "Not another one," Brooke groaned. "How many more of these are there?" she demanded.

"You're asking me?" Susan arched an eyebrow. "I'm just going along with it, Brooke. I don't know what's going on any more than you do." She pushed against the next trapdoor, but it seemed unwilling to budge.

Brooke groaned, but helped her friend push open the trapdoor. They had to go through three or four more secret hallways before they finally reached a room where a young woman was sitting at. She stood up.

"Took you long enough," she said lightly. Susan blinked in surprise at the woman's words. "I am Winona, the Fortree City gym leader. Which one of you wishes to battle?"

Susan stepped forward. "I do."

Winona nodded. "Of course, the young girl from Tree Hill. I just another trainer from Tree Hill battle. Just starting out, as I daresay you are." She eyed Susan, who nodded after a moment. "Very rude young man, that was. Name of Nathan Scott?" she questioned.

Susan and Brooke looked at each other. "Yeah, that's my brother," Susan said with a sigh. "Long story, trust me," she added when Winona looked questioning. "So how many Pokémon are we going to use to battle with?"

"Two on two," she answered, crossing to the gym floor. "If you best me with two Pokémon, then you'll win the Feather Badge." She held up a glittering badge in her hand. "But I have hardly ever lost. Now, onto the battle!"

"All right," Susan said, producing her Pokéball that held Nidoran. "Let's get started, then."

Winona nodded as she threw a Pokéball. A burst of light exploded and a bird Pokémon swarmed into view. Susan pointed the Pokédex at the bird and it clicked onto the entry. _"Swellow, a bird Pokémon. The evolved form of Taillow. It uses its powerful wings to launch powerful attacks." _

Susan bit her lip, glancing towards the Pokémon. "All right, let's try this," she muttered to herself. "Nidoran, I choose you!" Throwing the Pokéball, the blue Pokémon was released.

"Swellow, gust!" Winona shouted.

"Nidoran, double kick!" Susan commanded, trying to remember what the blue Pokémon's attacks were.

As the kick was thrown at the bird Pokémon, Swellow released a gust of wind towards the blue Pokémon, throwing it off of its attack. Susan sucked in her breath as Nidoran struggled to its feet.

"Fighting attacks aren't going to do much damage to it, Sue!" Brooke said impatiently, looking worried and alarmed. "Bird Pokémon are strong against those kinds of attacks! You've got to use an attack that bird Pokémon are weak against."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, this is your battle!" Brooke pointed out as Swellow launched another attack.

Susan bit her lip, trying to come up with another attack. "Okay, uh . . . Nidoran, poison sting!"

The attack proved effective. Three shots from Nitoran's horn caught Swellow head on and the bird Pokémon squawked in alarm and pain. The effect was instantaneous; Swellow soared down to the ground in obvious pain and Winona recalled it.

"Not bad," she commented. "But this match . . . is just getting started. Skarmory, go!"

"Skarmory?" Susan echoed as a steel-type bird Pokémon appeared. And she knew perfectly well that Poison types were weak against steel. "Okay, Nidoran, return!" She called back her Pokémon, glancing down at Pikachu. "All right, buddy, you're up."

"Pikachu!" The yellow Pokémon raced onto the field, electric sparkling from its cheeks.

"Now, thunderbolt attack!" she called, using one of the electric attacks that it had.

At the same time, Winona shouted for Skarmory to use one of the most powerful Steel type attacks: Steel wing.

Electricity sparkled in the room, almost illuminating the gym as it caught and trapped Skarmory with a full force blast. Susan almost gasped in shock at the amount of damage that it did. For a moment, it was impossible for anybody to see what was going on due to the intense light.

A loud squawking emerged as the light vanished and then there was a loud thump as the bird Pokémon dropped down to the ground, unconscious. Both Winona and Susan stared at the bird Pokémon before Winona recalled her Pokémon, looking both shocked and flustered by the defeat.

"Ah, well . . ." She shook her head, obviously bewildered. "I guess that means that I need to continue training a little bit. Obviously overconfidence can be a sign of weakness." Winona walked over to the trainers, pulling out a badge and handing it to Susan. "This belongs to you; it's the Feather Badge, proof that you have won your match here at the Fortree City Gym."

"Thank you," Susan said as Pikachu leaped onto her shoulder and examined the badge. "Thank you very much."

"No need to thank me, you have earned it," Winona assured her. "And I think you make a very fine Pokémon trainer, young Susan. And with time and training, you will make an excellent Pokémon Master as well. Don't let your brother push aside your own dreams," she added dryly.

Susan nodded. "Thank you," she agreed.

--

"Well, I think we've done enough damage than we can to this town," Brooke said cheerfully after they made a quick stop at the Pokémon Centre so both of their Pokémon could be healed before they headed out of Fortree City. "What do you think?"

"Yeah, well, that depends on where we're going next," Susan answered, shoving her hands into her pockets. "If we head southeast through Routes 120 and 121, then we'll eventually hit Lilycove City. There isn't a gym there, but it's right on the ocean."

"Are you kidding me? Then let's head there! I love the ocean!" Brooke squealed happily. "What's the other option?"

"Well, we could head back towards Tree Hill and go to Mauville City and the Mauville Gym," Susan answered, scratching her head thoughtfully. "But I think we'd better head southeast. If I go back to Tree Hill now, before I've really started, then I won't want to leave."

"Smart thinking!" Brooke agreed. "All right, on to Lilycove City!" she cheered, heading on towards Route 120. "So what else is there to do in Lilycove City?" she asked.

"Well, there's the Lilycove Museum. I think they've got a new exhibit opening up," she answered. Seeing Brooke's bored look, she added dryly, "And they've got a department store that's supposed to be one of the biggest around."

"A DEPARTMENT STORE? REALLY?" Brooke shrieked, ecstatic. "Oh, please don't tell me that you're joking. The beach and a department store? I'm in heaven . . ." she said dreamily.

"Oh, yeah, Brooke, you've really been changing your ways," Susan said with a laugh as Pikachu ran up ahead, eating some berries off of one of the trees. "Careful, Pikachu," she warned the Pokémon. "You don't want to eat any that's poisoned, all right?"

"Pika!" Pikachu answered, reassuring her worries, and resumed eating. Susan smiled slightly.

"All right, so according to my calculations, we should get to Lilycove in about four days, so let's get started," she said as they began walking through the forest of Route 120, heading towards new adventures, new excitement, and new perilous beyond their imaginations.

If only Susan could have known that her life was about to take a drastic turn and she would be fighting not only for the future of Pokémon everywhere, but for the safety of her family, the triumph over the father she's never known, and the love of a brother who has never wanted to know her.


	6. Lost Pokemon

**Pokémon Quest**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Six: Lost Pokémon

Susan was leaning back against a tree with Pikachu in her lap, a half-amused, half-exasperated look on her face as they watched Brooke bending over a map, struggling to get their location straight. Finally, she decided to try and intervene and help her.

"Brooke, just deal with it, okay?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "We're lost." She didn't feel the need to point out that Brooke was the one who had gotten them in the wrong direction to begin with. But it was partly her own fault; she should have known better than to let Brooke handle the map. The girl had absolutely _no_ sense of direction.

"No, we are _not_ lost," Brooke insisted. "I know perfectly well where we're going." She paused. "It's just where we are at the moment that has got me a little confused."

"Which means that we're lost," Susan put in. "Why don't you let me take a look at the map, okay? You suck at directions." She smiled pleasantly as her friend scowled.

"Thanks," Brooke grumbled, but moved away from the map so Susan could take her place. She didn't wait five seconds before asking, "So, do you know where we're at?"

"Um . . ." Susan frowned, studying the map, trying to determine their location. "Well, according to my calculations, we're right in the middle of nowhere. But if we go southeast on this road here, that should take us to Route 121, which will take us directly to Lilycove City." She glanced up at Brooke as she folded up the map carefully. "Just as long as we don't try and take any more shortcuts."

"Very funny," Brooke muttered. "Well, let's get going. I want to get there as soon as possible."

"What for? I don't even know why you're so excited to get to the Department Store, anyway. We won't be able to carry half the stuff that you buy, even with both of us."

"I'm just going to have it shipped to my place," Brooke said with a shrug. "I need some decoration stuff, anyway."

"Like your room isn't decorated enough," Susan muttered. Brooke only smiled, shaking her head, as she continued to skip down the path. Pikachu climbed up on Susan's shoulder as rustling emerged from ahead. "Uh, Brooke!"

"What?" Her friend turned around just as a blast struck nearby. Brooke shrieked, leaping into the air. "What's going on?"

"Dunno," Susan answered, shrugging. She glanced around them. "I think it came from that direction." She pointed in the woods just beyond and Brooke looked, biting her lip. "Should we take a look?"

"Yeah, I think we should," Brooke agreed. Both girls started pushing their way through the woods until they found a bunch of wild Pokémon huddling together, all of them obviously afraid of something. "What's the—"

"Look!" Susan pointed towards something behind Brooke. The older girl turned around and gasped in surprise. There was a Seviper standing just beyond them.

Brooke almost tripped over in surprise at the sight of the Pokémon. "Oh, my gosh!" she shrieked, delighted. "A Seviper! I've always wanted one of those!" She reached inside of her purse to retrieve her Pokéball so that she could battle with it.

"Hold on, Brooke, I think that one's really bad-tempered," Susan warned her. "Obviously it's threatening these Pokémon because its territory is threatened. It'll be hard to get a handle on it."

But her friend only shrugged carelessly. "I don't care, I have always wanted a Seviper. Besides, plenty other people have raised stubborn and difficult Pokémon before and they all came out just fine. I am going to catch it."

"And you say that I'm stubborn," Susan sighed.

"Come on out, Wartortle!" Brooke threw a Pokéball and a burst of light emerged, revealing the evolved form of Squirtle. "Water gun attack, now!"

The turtle Pokémon let out a burst of water, throwing the snakelike Pokémon off balance for a moment before released a series of poison pins out of its mouth towards Wartortle.

"Dodge it and use hydro pump!" Brooke commanded. "And then bubblebeam!"

It took the space of two heartbeats for the turtle Pokémon to carry out its commands and Seviper was thrown off guard for a moment. "Now!" Brooke threw a vacant Pokéball. "Go, Pokéball!"

As the snake was sucked into the ball, Susan felt something rub her ankle comfortingly. Glancing down, she saw a Skitty at her feet, looking curiously up at her. Bending down, Susan scratched the kitten Pokémon behind the ears as Brooke let out a cheer of triumph.

"Yes, success!" She raced over and picked up the Pokéball that now contained her Seviper. Susan smiled slightly as Pikachu jumped off of her shoulder and started talking with the Skitty. "Impressed, missy?" she asked, grinning at Susan.

"Oh, yeah," Susan sighed. She had noticed something that the other girl hadn't. "Brooke, have you noticed something out of the ordinary here?" she questioned.

Her friend arched her eyebrows and looked around them as though expecting a herd of Tauros to come crashing through. "Uh, no, I don't see something out of the ordinary here, Sue. What are you going on about?"

Susan shook her head, pointing towards the dozen or so Pokémon of various species. But one thing was completely identical about them. "Brooke, these are Skitty, Plusle, Minun, and Jigglypuff. This is a forest, and it's pretty far out of the way. These types of Pokémon usually roam in open fields and stuff, not in forests."

"Really?" Brooke frowned at this. "Then what are you guys doing here?" she questioned in a concerned voice, going over and scratching a few of them on their heads. "Are you lost or something?"

"If it were a few of them, I'd say that were a possibility, but not a whole bunch, Brooke," Susan said, frowning. "More than likely, they were forced off of their territory."

"By what? Some other Pokémon taking over?"

"Or a building project took over where they were living at," Susan reasoned. "Lots of Pokémon have been forced to leave their territory because of human influence. Often times, it happens more often than Pokémon disputes."

"So, what do we do?" Brooke asked, looking upset. "We can't just leave them out here in the forest! They're not used to it, if you're so sure about this," she added, looking at Susan. "What if some other Pokémon forces them off of this land, then they'll be left with nowhere to go!"

"I know," Susan admitted, scratching her head. "Well, we could take them with us to Lilycove City, but I don't know if there's anywhere around there that they could live at. Pikachu, where are they from, anyway?" she asked, looking down at the two Pokémon.

"Pika-Pika-Pi-Pikachu," her Pokémon answered, looking up at its trainer. Susan had been trying to make sense of the Pokémon's language for awhile, and she was really only starting to get the gist of it.

"Ocean?" she questioned. Pikachu nodded. "They're from Lilycove City, right near the ocean?"

"Pika!" The delighted look that Pikachu gave her told her that this was the right answer.

Looking at Brooke, Susan asked, "Do you know if they've been doing some project out there or anything?"

Brooke shook her head. "No, my dad was the one who paid attention to that kind of stuff, Sue, you know that."

Rolling her eyes, Susan suppressed a sigh, glancing at the group at large. "Do you guys think you'll be okay out here, or do you want us to help you find a safe place to live at?"

Skitty purred loudly, along with cheers from the other Pokémon. Susan smiled. "All right, then, let's get a move on. Hopefully Brooke won't get us lost again," she added teasingly.

Brooke scowled as the group started moving out towards the path and heading southwards towards Route 121. Susan smiled slightly as she tucked a stand of dark hair behind her ear, trying to think about what could have caused the group to leave their home.

As far as she knew, there wasn't any kind of building project in Lilycove City, but she hadn't caught a glimpse of a newspaper or the news in the weeks that had gone by since she left Tree Hill. So they could've started something without her knowing about it.

Susan sighed, her thoughts drifting, as they so often did, to her brother. Would he have gone out of his way to help these Pokémon? Probably not, but she hoped that, one day, he would become less like their father. Sometimes, people needed their freedom to discover who they truly were. She hoped that that was all he needed.

Because if it wasn't, she had the feeling they would, somewhere down the line, become mortal enemies.

--

"Okay, seriously, we need to get to Lilycove, because we are running low on supplies," Brooke complained as she checked her bag again. "I hope that the Department Store has some good bargains, because we're going to need a lot of stuff."

"What do we need?" Susan asked as she placed the last bowl of Pokémon food beside a Jigglypuff, who squealed with delight. She smiled as Pikachu finished its own meal and headed over to his trainer. "Potions and antidotes?"

"Those, definitely, but we also need some water and stuff for making Pokémon food and stew."

"Well, I can take care of that; there's plenty of stuff out here in the forest to make food with and I have a pretty good idea on which ones are bad for us and which ones are good," Susan reasoned. "And don't worry about the supplies, we'll be there shortly and then we'll get the stuff that we need."

"Okay, but we do need to get there pretty soon," Brooke complained. "Sue, it's been four days since you said that it would be four days until we got there."

"So, I was a little off on my calculations," Susan retorted. "You can't expect me to be on track all of the time, Brooke. I'm not Superwoman, you know." She shook her head.

Brooke sighed, turning around, her eyes suddenly catching sight of something ahead. "Hey, what's that?"

"What's what?"

Susan got to her feet and went to go see what Brooke was talking about. She saw it almost immediately; a fence that was almost hidden by the amount of vines that were wrapped around it. The fence was about a mile long as far as Susan could see and it stretched pretty far back.

"Oh, wow!" Susan said, slapping her forehead. "I think that might be the Safari Zone that Uncle Keith was talking about a couple of months ago! They must have finished it!"

Turning around, Brooke looked at her. "Do you think this might be where the Pokémon were kicked off? You said that it was a building project . . ."

"I said that it _could_ be a building project and probably not. Pikachu said that they were from the ocean. But come on, let's go check it out! Maybe the caretaker will be willing to let them stay here!"

"Okay, okay," Brooke complained as she and the Pokémon hurried after Susan, who was racing ahead to the gate.


	7. Saving the Safari Zone

**Pokémon Quest**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Seven: Saving the Safari Zone

Susan pushed open the door to the entrance gate, taking a look around the empty lobby. "Hello? Is anybody here?" she asked as Brooke and the Pokémon followed her in. Nobody answered and she glanced towards Brooke. "Looks like nobody's here. That's weird. Maybe they're out to lunch or something," she suggested.

"Maybe," Brooke said, biting her lip. "Might as well take a look around and see if we can find anything, right?"

"Yeah." Susan glanced down as Pikachu's ears twitched, as though it had heard something that the girls hadn't. "What is it, Pikachu?"

"Pika-Pi!"

The yellow Pokémon pointed towards something behind them and Susan turned around to see a man walking down the steps, his expression harassed and alarmed. "What do you think you kids are doing here?" he demanded. Even his voice sounded panicked. "You need to leave here, now."

"Um . . . sir, we were just wondering if the Safari Zone has opened yet," Susan told him. "We found these Pokémon in the woods and—"

"What part of 'you need to leave' didn't you understand?" the man demanded. "Listen, little missy, you have to leave before you get swept up into all of this, understand? Both of you, go, and take those Pokémon with you, before they start trying to recruit you."

Susan stared at the man and then looked at Brooke, who was narrowing her eyes towards him. "What are you talking about?" Brooke wanted to know, placing her hands on her hips, her dark eyes like daggers. She looked very intimidating. "And who is 'they', anyway?"

The man shook his head. "You don't need to know that. Just hurry and get away. They'll know that something isn't right in a bit and then you'll pay the price for your stubbornness."

"Sorry, but we're staying until you tell us what exactly is going on," Brooke said pleasantly. Susan folded her arms across her chest, giving the man a look that said it was pointless to argue with them. In this kind of mood, it was pointless to argue with either girl.

With a small, defeat sigh, the man glanced towards the window that led to the Safari Zone before pointing upwards. "Up the stairs, quickly," he whispered. "_Quickly!_"

Susan and Brooke both obeyed, the Pokémon hurrying behind them. It was only when the last Jigglypuff was safely inside that the man closed the door behind them.

"You kids don't know what you're getting yourselves into," the man said, rubbing his hand over his eyes. "But since you insist, let me start at the beginning.

"My name is George Sanders and I'm the director here at the Safari Zone. I had hoped to create a safe haven for Pokémon, where they could live in peace and harmony. They could leave, of course, if they wanted, usually with a new trainer or friends. I would not imprison them here against their will. It was an old man's dream, you see . . .

"Unfortunately, my brother wanted to help me with my project, but unlike me, he wanted to capture and control Pokémon in the Safari Zone, keep them here and use their powers for evil instead of good. He was always so . . . ambitious, you see. But his ambition led him down the wrong path. He began to treat Pokémon like they were only meant to serve humans instead of the equals that they are."

"So what happened?" Susan asked cautiously as Pikachu hopped onto her shoulder, its expression worried. She reached up and patted him comfortingly.

"Well . . . at first, I was reluctant to let my brother help me with the project, but at our mother's beseeching, I finally allowed him. A foolish mistake. And I was such a fool . . ." He sighed. "My brother received the help of some friends, as he called them. But really, they were people that he had been working undercover for years. You know of them, though few people have ever heard their names aloud. They work to control Pokémon and seek the world's strongest ever. But as they began to take control of the Safari Zone . . . my dream . . . I learned who they really are."

"And who might that be?" Brooke said. Susan glanced at her; she had the feeling that Brooke already knew.

"They call themselves Squad Magenta. Certainly, you'll have never heard of them, but they have caused all kinds of commotion during the past ten or eleven years." Sanders sighed. "Taking over powerful companies . . . trying to capture rare and unusual Pokémon . . . and this." He walked to the window and stared out.

"I have thought about leaving here, but what would happen to the Pokémon I'd sworn to protect here? They would be left vulnerable to my brother and his minions. And if they tried to even escape . . ." He sighed. "It would be a fate worse than death. Some have already tried and I just barely managed to save them."

"Why haven't you tried to get help from someone?" Susan asked. "Tell them what's going on?"

"I thought about it, even attempted it once, but it was thwarted. Communication is on the other side of the zone and they realised what I was up to before I could complete the call. They have complete control under communication now."

"Can they pick up cell phone radar?" Brooke wanted to know, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Not that I'm aware of, why?"

"I'll be right back, I have to make a quick call," Brooke said, walking away as she pulled out a cell phone from her pocket. Susan frowned; she hadn't known that Brooke had a cell and why she even had one. They didn't have much use for it.

Except for now, that is. And who could she possibly be calling? Who did she know that could help them?

"Who is your friend calling?" Sanders asked, picking up on her train of thought. Susan shrugged.

"I have absolutely no idea." Susan shook her head. "Man, I really wanted to see the Safari Zone and get a safe home for all these Pokémon. We think they were forces off of their territory," she explained to Sanders. "From what Pikachu told me, they're from Lilycove City."

"You know, now that I think about it, my brother was involved in some building project a couple of months ago," Sanders said, scratching his beard. "If I could, I would let them stay here, but they would be better off in the wild and away from these crooks."

"Yeah, I guess so," Susan sighed. "So, what do we have to do in order to stop them?"

"We've got to fight."

Both Sanders and Susan looked around as Brooke walked towards them, looking positively livid. "I got ahold of some powerful friends and they're on their way. But we need to help them, Sue. It's our job as Pokémon trainers to help protect Pokémon from crooks and thieves and scoundrels like them."

"You can count me in. Right, Pikachu?" she asked, glancing at the yellow Pokémon, who chirped in reply. "We're in."

"Good," Brooke said, placing her hands on her hips. "Because we're going to need all the help that we can get."

"Sure, just one question: who do you know that can help us here?" Susan wanted to know. "And where did you get the cell phone?"

"I thought that you only wanted one question?" Brooke said with an innocent smile that Susan saw right through.

"Brooke!"

"Look, you'll find out one day, but for now, you're just going to have to trust that I'm doing the right thing," Brooke said patiently. She walked away, juggling a Pokéball in her hand as she hurried downstairs.

Susan sighed. "_That's_ why I'm worried." She shook her head, glancing at Sanders. "Can the Pokémon stay with you while we take care of them?"

"Of course," Sanders said with a baffled look towards Brooke. "Has she always been like that?"

"Usually." Susan shook her head as she hurried after Brooke, Pikachu right at her heels. Unknown to her, however, the Skitty that had approached Susan in the woods was right behind them, keeping a few feet distance so they didn't know it was following them.

--

"Okay, so how exactly are we going to do this?" Susan questioned as she looked down at the members of Squad Magenta. Ironically enough, they were all wearing deep magenta shirts. "Do you have a plan?"

"Yes," Brooke agreed as she looked down at the six members that were barricading the Safari Zone. "I'm going to go after the two members over there first." She pointed towards the two closest to them.

"All right, and then what?"

"Then go after the other four."

"Oh, sure." Susan rolled her eyes. She wondered when Brooke would ever come up with a decent plan.

"Ready?"

"Brooke, NO!"

The older girl, however, ignored Susan as she raced out, pulling out three Pokéballs out of her bags. "Seviper, Wartortle, Flareon, let's go!"

With a burst of light, the three Pokémon that she had called out appeared and Squad Magenta looked around, startled by the cry. "What do you think you're doing here, little girl?" one of them yelled. "Get her!" They raced towards Brooke.

Susan let out a groan and hurried out to help her friend, pulling out her Pokéball. "Nidoran, let's go! Fury swipes! Pikachu, quick attack!" Her Pokémon raced forward to obey their commands as their enemies pulled out their own Pokémon.

A Perisan, Magmar, and Golduck appeared in front of Susan's Pokémon while Miltank, Mr. Mime, and Raticate emerged in front of Brooke's. "Oh, boy," the dark haired trainer muttered as she stared at the Pokémon. This was definitely going to be harder than the gym battle she'd just went through.

Which, now that she thought about it, was kind of ironic. "Hey, two against three isn't fair!"

One of them laughed. "Well, get used to it, little girl, we don't play by the rules, so you're just going to work hard to beat us. And when you fail, then we'll just capture all of your Pokémon."

"That's not going to happen," Susan growled, angry rising through her. "I—" Susan was cut off as a meow emerged and Skitty appeared, joining her Pokémon, helping them fight. "Skitty?" she said incredulously. It was supposed to be back with the others with Sanders.

Oh, well. She could deal with that later. "Okay, Pikachu, thunderbolt!" she yelled. "Nidoran, poison sting! Skitty, tackle!"

The battle seemed to be going well until more members arrived. "Brooke, we got more company!" Susan yelled. Her friend turned around, looking alarmed, and she cursed.

"Now what?"

"I don't know, I—" Susan's eyes fell on Wartortle, then to Pikachu and back again. "Brooke, have Wartortle use water gun on all of them! NOW!"

Although it was clear that her friend didn't have any idea why she was commanding this, Brooke immediately did as she had instructed. "Wartortle, use water gun to hose down all of those guys! Let's go!" She looked towards Susan. "What are you planning?"

"Never mind," Susan said hurriedly as Wartortle did as she was told. "Pikachu, thunderbolt!"

"PIKACHU!" Lighting and electricity erupted in the Safari Zone, jolting everyone that had been electrocuted. And then the force of it caused an explosion, sending everyone flying backwards.

Susan looked up just in time to see their enemies being thrown backwards and out of the zone. "Thank goodness, it worked," Susan sighed, looking at Brooke. "Water conducts electricity," she explained.

"Oh. Good idea." Brooke looked around. "And I think that's all of them," she added just as a helicopter arrived. "There's my friends."

She hurried over to the helicopter as a couple of guys climbed out of it, along with an authoritative looking man. "Hello, Mr. Turner, we just got rid of them. It wasn't that many, but there may be more of them around."

"Good job, Miss Davis," Mr. Turner told her.  
"Oh, no, don't thank me," Brooke said with a smile. "Thank my friend Susan," she said, pointing towards her. "It was her idea to use Wartortle's water gun and Pikachu's thunderbolt together."

"So you're the infamous Susan Dawson," Mr. Turner said, turning towards her. "Miss Davis has told me a lot about you."

Susan smiled faintly. "Funny, she hasn't mentioned anything to me about you."

"No, she wouldn't," Mr. Turner said. He looked at the others. "All right, you know what to do. Scout the area and find any more Magenta thugs. Bring them back here so we can question them. I want to know what they're up to. You called at excellent timing, Miss Davis," he added. "I was wondering when they were going to show up again."

"Well, we were just trying to find a safe place for some Pokémon that were kicked off their land," Brooke explained. "Apparently Magenta's work."

"It should be safe for them now. Where's the director?"

"Up at the safe house," Susan answered, pointing towards where they had left Sanders and the rest of the Pokémon. "Along with the Pokémon that we brought with us."

"Good. I want to have a talk with him."

--

While Sanders and Turner talked behind closed doors, Susan looked towards Brooke. "So, who exactly is that man?" she wanted to know. "And why did you call him for help?"

"He's just an old friend of my dad's," Brooke said simply. "And he's got a reputation for being protectors of Pokémon. His main obligation is to protect them from Magenta, so those guys who work for him help to stop their plans and stuff."

Susan eyed her friend suspiciously. "Brooke, what aren't you telling me?" she wanted to know.

"Nothing!"

"Yeah, right." She looked up as the two men exited the room, both of them looking happy.

"Thank you for all of your help, Mr. Turner," Sanders was saying as he shook Turner's hand in gratitude. "You've helped to preserve the Safari Zone and my dream of protecting Pokémon." He turned towards the girls. "And you two . . . are the bravest, more kind-hearted trainers that I've ever met. I am glad to have met you. Your parents must be very proud."

"Well, I lived my uncle," Susan said with a shrug. "And he is proud. But we were glad to help, sir. Anybody who tries and control Pokémon has no right to call themselves trainers."

"Young, yet wise," Turner said with a smile. "Your uncle will be very proud of you, young Susan. And I will be watching your career with great interest." He placed a hand on Susan's shoulder as he walked out. "The Safari Zone is now safe and protected again."

Susan watched him go, frowning slightly. Then she turned towards Sanders. "So, can the Pokémon stay here now?"

"Yes, I will be glad to have them. You two continue on your journey now," Sanders told her. "They will be safe and protected here. I can assure you of that. My way is clear again."

With a goodbye to Sanders, Susan, Brooke, and Pikachu were once again on their journey. It didn't take Susan long to know that something was following them as they were on the right trail once again.

"Susan, that Skitty is following us," Brooke observed, glancing behind them. With a smile, Susan turned around, grinning at the Skitty that had been trailing them for some time.

"Would you like to come with us, Skitty?" she asked, kneeling down. The kitten Pokémon squealed and hurried into Susan's waiting arms. She laughed as Pikachu squealed happily. "Welcome to the group, Skitty."


	8. A Glimpse of Friendship

**Pokémon Quest**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Eight: A Glimpse of Friendship

It didn't take long after they arrived in Lilycove City for Susan to wish that she hadn't paid attention to Brooke's request and gone to Mauville City instead of Lilycove. Practically the moment that they arrived in town, Brooke had dragged Susan and Pikachu off to the Department Store, which of course was her main reason for coming here. No matter what Susan did to dissuade her, she started buying almost the entire store.

After an hour of following her friend around, Susan started to get bored and finally told Brooke that she was going to go get the stuff that they actually _needed_ and meet her at the Pokémon Centre later on.

"Okay, sure, no problem," Brooke said absently, walking down the aisles filled with merchandise. "Don't worry, Sue, I'll meet you there later on. Two hours, okay? I'll be there in two hours."

"Two hours, right," Susan muttered as Pikachu climbed up on her shoulder as she walked out of the aisle, heading down to the Pokémon supplies level. She smiled wanly down at Pikachu and inquired, "Now where have I heard that before?"

"Pika-Pi."

After she had bought enough supplies that would last them from awhile, Susan walked out of the Department Store and headed towards the Pokémon on the opposite end of town. She had Nurse Joy take a look at Pikachu, Nidoran, and Skitty to make sure that they were all right. Ever since that incident at the Safari Zone, things had been relatively quiet for the two young trainers, but there was no sense in being completely irresponsible with her training. Not this soon into it.

It didn't take long for Nurse Joy to finish taking a look at them and when she was done, she came over and handed the Pokéballs and Pikachu jumped into Susan's arms. "They're all okay?" Susan asked Nurse Joy, who nodded with a smile.

"Nothing too serious," she answered. "Skitty had a splinter in its paw, but I was able to get that out. Other than that, they just need rest for a bit. Why don't you go out and explore the town for a bit? Nothing relaxes a Pokémon more than the beaches here."  
"Thanks, but I'm supposed to be waiting for my friend," Susan admitted, frowning as she glanced at her watch. "And I definitely need to buy her a watch on her next birthday, because she's over an hour late."

Nurse Joy smiled. "Well, I can tell her where you went. What's your friend's name, Susan?"

"Uh, Brooke. Brooke Davis," she answered. "Dark hair, dark eyes, kind of outgoing, a little crazy."

"Oh, yes, I remember her. She was here a few months ago, with that redheaded friend of hers. What was his name again? Nicholas, I think?"

Susan frowned in bewilderment, remembering the redheaded guy that she'd seen Brooke with back in Fortree, but she hadn't caught his name. In fact, Brooke had deliberately ignored her question when she'd asked who he was. "Uh, I'm not sure, she never told me his name."

"Well, I didn't like him, that's for sure. That one was trouble and that's with a capital T." Nurse Joy shook her head. "Go ahead, go out, I'll tell Miss Davis where you've gone." She smiled reassuringly at Susan, who nodded in agreement.

"All right, thank you." She headed out of the Pokémon Centre and as the doors closed behind her, she glanced down at Pikachu and inquired, "Well, buddy, what do you want to do?"

In the end, the trainer and her Pokémon ended up spending the day at the beach. Susan felt highly relaxed as she floated on the ocean water, allowing it carry her through the water.

About midday, however, she was interrupted from her peaceful time by Pikachu's shout of alarm, followed by Skitty's squeals and Nidoran's yell. Scrambling out of the water, she hurried towards her Pokémon and shouted, "What do you think you're doing?"

There was a kid around her own age standing over them, a Charmander standing between them looking very threateningly towards them. "Stay out of this one, Dawson," he threw over his shoulder at her. "This is none of your business."

"Those are _my_ Pokémon!" Susan shouted before her reason caught up with her senses as to how he knew her last name. Then she realised what he'd said and recognised his voice. She scowled and said, "Nathan Scott, what are you doing here?"

"Same as you, I'm training," he retorted, but he backed off. "Those are really yours?"

"Yes."

"Captured three already? I'm impressed," he said and though Susan looked for it, there was no mockery in his tone. "So you made it all the way to Lilycove by yourself? I'm surprised that you actually managed to find it," he added calmly.

"This coming from the boy who was heading in the wrong direction of Fortree over a month ago," Susan challenged. "And no, I didn't come here alone. My friend Brooke is with me."

"Brooke? The Davis girl?" Nathan's eyebrows raised so high that they were in danger of disappearing into his hair. "I thought that she moved away to Kanto over a year ago."

"She did. But she came back after she started training." Susan was actually impressed that he managed to keep that particular piece of information handy. And that she was actually having a civil conversation with her younger half-brother.

"And she's travelling with you? Somebody should give that girl a piece of advice and stay away from you." Nathan shook his head. "Gotta give you credit, though, they looked like they've been trained well." He looked reluctant. "Guess Uncle Keith did do a good job with you."

"I guess that I'll take that as a compliment." Susan pulled her towel tighter around her; it was already late summer and the weather had started to cool down. Autumn was coming. "So what are you doing here? There's not a gym in town."

"Peyton wanted to check out the museum here," Nathan answered. "I'm sort of travelling with her. She's having her Pokémon checked out before we head over there."

"Yeah, I wanted to go check that out, too," Susan said with a smile. "I was going to do that before we head out of town." She saw Nathan glance up at her in surprise. "What, can't you believe that I would actually care about art and stuff like that?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest, which was hard considering her arms were entangled in the towel.

"Must be from your mom's side," Nathan drawled. "'Cause Dad doesn't really care about that kind of stuff."

"Uncle Keith does."

"Well, that's because he's the weird Scott," Nathan responded, but he was grinning, so she didn't really take his comment seriously. She seriously couldn't believe that they were having a civil conversation, not after their last encounter. "Sorry."

Susan shrugged, shaking her head and she glanced towards her Pokémon. "So what exactly were you doing?"

Nathan looked extremely nervous as he looked anywhere but at her. "Well, I—I didn't exactly know that they belonged to anybody. It was a mistake anybody could've made."

"You were trying to capture my Pokémon," Susan accused him, frowning at her brother. He had the grace to look ashamed, but didn't answer. "Nathan, you really need to think about stuff before you do it. Why would three Pokémon of different species be at the beach in front of a million people if they weren't being trained by someone?"

"It was an honest mistake," Nathan insisted, shoving his hands into his pockets, looking embarrassed.

Susan dearly wanted to say that he didn't have an honest bone in his body, but she knew perfectly well that she wouldn't be hurling those words at her brother, but at her father. And Nathan, while he did look a lot like their father, wasn't Dan. While he acted a lot like Dan in a miniature package, he wasn't their father, even if Dan wanted him to be.

"So, did you want to come?" Nathan asked, deftly changing the subject. She blinked, frowning at him in confusion and bewilderment. "To the museum with us. Might make it a bit more bearable, if you go. I go with Peyton and all she'll do is go on and on about stuff that I wouldn't know anything about otherwise. You might be able to know what she's going on about, though, if you care about that stuff."

Susan bit her lip and glanced down at her Pokémon. "What do you guys think?" she asked. "You wanna go?"

"Pika!"

"Nidoran!"

"Skitty-Skit!"

Looking back at her brother, Susan nodded. "Yeah, just let me go get changed, I'll be right back," she said, heading over to the girls changing room, where she'd left her clothes.

But before she could get far, Pikachu started talking to Charmander, who replied in its own language. Nathan was looking down at the two of them in amazement, before looking towards Susan.

"What's it saying?" he asked.

Susan smiled dryly. "Only that if you play any tricks on me, you're gonna get a big dose of electric attacks," she responded. "I wouldn't try it; the last time somebody was on the receiving end of Pikachu's electric attack, they got blasted two miles away." She, of course, was referring to the guys at the Safari Zone, but Nathan wasn't to know that. Brooke had asked her not to mention that they were involved in that or that Mr. Turner had anything to do with the restoration of the Safari Zone.

Although Susan didn't know why she had requested this of her, she didn't argue with her friend. Brooke rarely asked her of anything of that sort, so she had to do as she asked.

"No tricks," Nathan said weakly, holding up his hands weakly. "I swear on my honour as a Pokémon trainer."

"Since when does he have any honour?" Susan muttered as she headed back towards the locker room and retrieved her things, changing quickly out of her wet swimsuit and changing back into her usual clothes. Blue jeans, purple shirt, and a blue jeans jacket with a lilac headband to keep her long hair out of her face.

"Pika-Pi, Pikachu Pika Pikachu Pi." Susan glanced down at her Pokémon as Pikachu spoke to her.

"No, I don't think that this is a good idea, but you know, he's my brother, after all. I really want to believe that there is some good in him, somehow. I've waited my whole life to get to know Nathan, you guys. This could be my one chance to do that, to change things between us, for the better. Without Dan manipulating Nathan and bending him to his will, there might be some hope for us. I've got to believe that."

AN: Okay, guys, I decided to start working on this again, but I really need you guys to be good about reviews, otherwise I might abandon this again. Seriously, two chapters without even review is a little much. Please, please, please review this chapter and maybe the last two, pretty please?

Lady Dawson


End file.
